Coffee tree

Coffee is the seed of a tree's fruit and has more than 125 species. Three of them are economically important; Coffea Arabica (Arabian Coffee), Coffea Canephora (Robusta) and Coffea Liberica.

The first cultivated coffee is Arabica. Recently being grown in Arabia, today it is mostly grown in Latin America. Robusta, which is considered to be East Africa and Kongo origin, is grown in Africa and Madagascar. These two species are also cultivated in Asia.

Normally the coffee tree reaches up to 8-10 meters in height (Arabica 5-6 m, Robusta 10-12 m) but it is usually allowed to grow up to 2-3 meters due to growing technique. Various conditions such as tropical zone, volcanic soil, average ambient moisture, etc., are necessary for growing.

Trees bloom white flowers generally soon after the rain. These flowers live only a few days, and the fruit comes out of the center of the flowers. This fruit, also called the coffee cherry, is 1,5 cm round in shape and green in color at the beginning. It turns to be red when it is ripe and this red fruit is actually used. The fruit's thick pericarp envelopes the coffee bean and most commonly contains two green beans.